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Newsmakers of the Week AUGUST 14, 2026 | The Indian Eye 32

NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK

Selected stories about Indian diaspora from our website www.theindianeye.com

VINAY KWATRA DR. NIRALI N. SHAH

Ambassador invites southeastern University of Maryland School of

US businesses to invest in India Medicine appoints Professor

Baltimore, MD:
irali N. Shah, MD, MHSc, a
nationally-recognized pediat-
Nric oncologist at the Nation-
al Cancer Institute (NCI), has been
appointed Professor and Director of
the Pediatric/Adolescent and Young
Adult Cell and Gene Therapy Pro-
gram at University of Maryland
School of Medicine. She will also
serve as Associate Director for Trans-
lational Research for the University
of Maryland Marlene and Stewart
Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer
Center (UMGCCC).
Dr. Shah will assume her new position in September and will treat patients
at the University of Maryland Golisano Children’s Hospital (UMGCH), hos-
pital Director Steven J. Czinn, MD, and UMGCCC Executive Director Tao-
Atlanta, GA: feek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, announced today.
ndian Ambassador to the United States Vinay Kwatra on Tuesday (local
time) called on American business leaders across the southeastern US to Dr. Shah has established herself as a leading expert on blood
Ideepen investment ties with India, pitching the nation’s rapidly expanding cancers, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, phase I
manufacturing and innovation sectors as prime opportunities for global supply
chain partnerships. clinical trials, and personalized immunotherapy for children
Sharing highlights from a Business Reception organised by the US-India and young adults. She is currently Head of the Pediatric On-
Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in Atlanta on X, Ambassador Kwatra
underscored India’s strong economic growth trajectory, skilled talent pool, cology Branch of the Hematologic Malignancies Section and
and robust innovation ecosystem. Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
The Ambassador also invited US enterprises to actively participate in re-
alising the vision of “Viksit Bharat” while driving toward the shared goal of Center for Cancer Research.
reaching $500 billion in bilateral trade between India and the United States.
“Glad to engage with business leaders from across the southeastern Her efforts in developing targeted immunotherapies to treat complex,
United States at the @USISPForum Business Reception in Atlanta. India’s high-risk blood cancers in children, adolescents and young adults highlight the
strong growth, expanding manufacturing base, skilled talent, and innovation powerful connection between cutting-edge research and a deep commitment
ecosystem offer unprecedented investment and supply chain partnerships. I to patient-centered care. Dr. Shah led the development of CD22 CAR T-cells,
invited businesses in the region to partner with India in realizing the vision of engineered immune cells made to target specific cancer cells. Her research
#ViksitBharat and advancing our shared goal of US$500 billion in bilateral has contributed to the current understanding of the efficacy and side effects
trade,” Kwatra wrote in a post on X. of CAR T therapy in pediatric patients, and she is the Principal Investigator
The outreach in Atlanta underscores growing diplomatic efforts to ex- of multiple active clinical trials ranging from treatment to data analysis and
pand US-India commercial engagement into dynamic regional economic retrospective studies.
hubs across the American Southeast. Dr. Shah has published more than 150 peer-reviewed research papers,
Earlier on Monday, India’s Ambassador to the United States, Kwatra, held many in leading journals like Nature Medicine, Blood, and the Journal of
a series of high-level engagements in the US state of Georgia, focusing on ex- Clinical Oncology.
panding bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, logistics, innovation and ed- Dr. Shah earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois and
ucation, as India and the US continue to strengthen their strategic partnership. has a master’s in health science degree in clinical research from Duke Uni-
In a series of posts on X, Kwatra shared details of his meetings with Geor- versity. She completed residency in the Harvard Combined internal medicine
gia Governor Brian Kemp, UPS Chief Executive Officer Carol Tome, and and pediatrics program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Chil-
academic leaders from universities across the southeastern United States. dren’s Hospital and fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology through the
As part of his engagements, Kwatra also participated in the India-US combined Johns Hopkins University-NCI program.
Education Roundtable hosted by the Consulate General of India in Atlanta, Dr. Shah is board certified in pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatrics,
where he interacted with leaders from 20 universities across the southeastern and internal medicine.
United States. Continued on next page... >>

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